


Hatching Finch

by Artianaiolanthe



Category: Deadman Wonderland
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Body Horror, Gen, Hagire had a daughter, Medical Experimentation, Pre-Series, What-If, follows the plot of the manga
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-01-07 10:53:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12231384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artianaiolanthe/pseuds/Artianaiolanthe
Summary: Hagire is a piece of shit frankly, but the way he was so callous about Sorae's guilt over Shiro and almost putting Ganta forth as a human test subject made me wonder. If he was in her shoes, what would he have done?OR;A bright eyed Finch forgot her friendsAnd left her past with torn, frayed endsA wretched egg found and returnedA lesson the finch forgot she'd learnedShe found herself locked in a cageAnd uncovered a long since repressed rageDeadman Wonderland will now face the fireOf the betrayed and lost daughter of Hagire





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> It begins about a year or two prior to the murder of Ganta's classmates, in a Nagoya Gymnasium

"Akayumi Rinichiro!"

 

Jumping up from her seat, Yumi went up to do her turn at the vault, her red hair flying behind her like a cape in its ponytail. Taking position, she leaned forward in anticipation and waited for the okay to run, hand rubbing the scar all around her wrist like she always did when she was anxious. The whistle blew and she was off.

 

Just as she pushed off the springboard she heard music begin to play. Her eyes widened and she recognized the song, one her old friend Ganta's mom sang to her, Ganta, and their friend Shiro. She remembered the words perfectly.

 

_ ~One mischievous little woodpecker _

 

_ Another day, pecking your holes _

 

_ Ruining the woods, tree-wrecker _

 

_ The angry old forest god turned your beak into a poison knife...~ _

 

When she landed, sticking it as always, everyone was gasping and pointing behind her.

 

"How's he doing that?"

 

"This is the third floor--"

 

"He's flying--!"

 

Yumi turned, frowning, and her eyes shot wide open. A person- a huge one, clothed completely in red- was floating outside the window. Their red rags whipped in the wind and a mask covered their eyes and nose.

 

_ ~Poor little woodpecker _

 

_ Your nesting holes are tainted, your food with toxins rife _

 

_ Touch your friends and they all will die, falling at your feet...~ _

 

Suddenly the person grinned. A mad, psychotic grin that made Yumi shudder. Then hexagons and thin red whips began to swirl through the air. She had such a deja vu moment… almost like...

 

Her friend Hinamei spoke up. "What's he doi--"

 

"Down. Everyone get down!" Yumi screamed, throwing herself to the ground as the the glass in the windows shattered.

 

_ Screams... so much screaming... _

 

_ Rubble falling all around her... _

 

**_Blood..._ **

 

Yumi was knocked unconscious, and when she came to, everything was destroyed. Her leotard was torn, childhood scars over her stomach and lower leg revealed, and she was scraped up and bruised badly. She reached over to shake the teacher but her hand came back coated in blood. He was in pieces.

 

She was going to throw up.

 

"Hina?" She said shakily. "H-Hina-"

 

She turned and this time she did throw up. The Red Man (he was too large not to be a man, wasn’t he?) was standing not three meters away, Hinamei's head severed, bashed in, and hanging by her soft brown hair from the Red Man's fingers.

 

She choked. "No!" She looked at the Red Man wide eyed in horror. "Wh-Why--"

 

Her terrified look turned into a glare and suddenly she was on her feet running for him, then she was throwing punches and landing kicks at random, sending him stumbling back the rare times she hit him. Yumi had always been strong for her age, and now she had a reason to use her strength to her advantage.

 

"Bastard!" She screamed. "Why!? Why the hell did you do this you son of a bitch--!"

 

The Red Man kicked her in the face, sending Yumi flying back into the surviving wall.

 

_ ~Oh, sad little woodpecker _

 

_ Poisonous tears shining brightly as they stream down your cheeks...~ _

 

A strangled sob forced its way up Akayumi's throat, tears leaking out of her eyes tracing her face. The tears hurt coming from her left eye, which had wound up blackened. They were dead. They were dead and now she was about to be…

 

About to be what?

 

She forced her eyes open to see the Red Man leering over her. He held up his hand, and a glowing red Crystal appeared.

 

"N-No-" She gasped. "Don't-"

 

The Red Man shoved his hand forward and Yumi screamed as the Crystal was embedded into her chest, a searing pain shooting through her entire body. Half the stitches in her hand tore and blood wept from her eyes. Then she collapsed to the ground.

  
  
  
  
  


**_~Time Skip; Trial of Nagoya vs. Rinichiro~_ **

 

"...And then I blacked out." Yumi finished for the jury. "I swear I didn't do this! How could I? My best friends are all... the coach was like my father... Hinamei-" She shuddered covering her face, trying not to sob.

 

"Thank you Ms. Rinichiro. I'm sure your testimony and that alone is sufficient evidence to the jury." My lawyer Mr. Tamaki finished, his glasses flashing while he grinned at her. Yumi didn't trust him, but he was doing this all for free and she doing okay. It was just nerves from the trial, probably, everyone seemed to want to bite her head off "Nothing further."

 

The prosecutor nodded. "No questions for his witness."

 

"You are dismissed, Ms. Rinichiro."

 

Yumi bowed her head respectfully and got to her feet, leaving the witness box. But as she did so, her phone fell out of her pocket and she froze as she heard a voice that sounded an awful lot like hers nastily berating her dead friends.

 

**"Of course I killed those bitches! Dumb cunts were in my way, this was my last chance to get into the Olympics before my twenties!"**

 

_ That's not me...! _

 

Yumi grabbed for the phone in a panic but the court officer shoved her away and picked up the phone, pressing a button ad projecting the screen to the entire courtroom. There was a girl who looked a lot like her leaning against the table with Mr. Tamaki, bragging about her crime. A crime she didn't commit.

 

**"So you want to plead innocent?"**

 

**"Duh! Imagine the publicity! Poor little gymnast survives a massacre and still has the strength to carry on her coach and friend's dreams on Olympic Gold. What's a few dead bodies to so much fame?"**

 

Trembling, Yumi whipped her head around, emerald eyes tearing up again. "No! I don't know how that got there, that isn't--!"

 

She was surrounded by officers and hit from all sides. Everything hurt. She collapsed to the ground and had her arms wrenched behind her back in handcuffs.

 

"Akayumi Rinichiro, you are here by found guilty of 17 deaths. I sentence you to death. You shall be sent to Deadman Wonderland to await the carrying out of your sentence." The judge banged the gavel and Yumi sobbed as she was dragged out of the courtroom.

 

A month ago she was so happy; her mom and step dad were proud of her for a competition, she and Hinamei were selected for the Olympic trials that were going on around this time, she was even going to make plans with Ganta to see that stupid movie revamping the old Aceman cartoons.

 

Now her friends were dead. Her stepfather disowned her and her mother couldn't stand to look at her. And she was going to jail for murder.


	2. Old Friends and the New Deadman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What did Yumi expect? She's in a prison

Yumi stood in line with the other prisoners, looking down while the warden walked up and down the line of prisoners, explaining the rules of the prison.

 

"To all of you new inmates, I will be taking care of you today. I am Chief Warden Makina. Pleased to meet you." She said, smiling politely.

 

She heard the other girls whispering. 

"Isn't that the mass murderer from Nagoya?" 

"How can they just let her with the normal population!?" 

"I heard she even killed her best friend...!"

 

Yumi frowned, pulling at the stitches keeping a good portion of her hand attached to her wrist.  _ But I didn't do it...! _

 

Makina explained how DW was a unique prison with tourism attractions. Then she asked for questions.

 

One of the girls snickered. "How much did you pay for those implants?"

 

"They're real." Makina answered casually. "Now, your bags have the bare requirements for your life here. Now, that necklace acts as an ID, a stunner, and has all sorts of safety measures. That is all, dismissed."

 

Yumi trudged to her cell and flung her bag to her cot, slumping against the wall and hugging her knees to her chest. She closed her eyes, trying to hum to forget where she was, but the only song that came to mind was the lullaby. She could just about hear it playing out loud… 

 

The massacre flashed in her mind and she felt like vomiting.

 

"I'm scared... I- I miss my friends..." She sniffled.

 

Suddenly a vent burst open from the ceiling and Yumi shrieked as a girl with long white hair in a skintight peach bodysuit dropped in front of her, her back to her. "Never fear, Aceman is here!" The girl cheered, throwing up mitten covered hands in the air.

 

"Huh? What the hell-?"

 

The girl turned around, revealing skin paler than her hair and wide red eyes. She grinned at Yumi and yanked her up into a hug. "Yumiiiiii! Have you come to visit Shiro after all these years!?"

 

"Shiro!?"

  
  
  


_ *Flashback* _

_ "Another shot, daddy?" Yumi mumbled, the little girl looking up at her father with hesitation. _

_ Hagire Rinichiro ran a hand through his black hair and tried for a smile. "Just one more sweetie. Daddy would like you 75% more if you'd do this for him." _

_ The little girl sighed and held out her arm, wincing as he stuck the needle in and ruffled her hair. "There's a good girl." _

_ She smiled uncertainty and left the room, walking outside rubbing her arms. They hurt a lot, but her dad only spent time with her when she let him and promised to play later. _

_ Always later. _

_ She stepped outside and was almost knocked over when a small boy with black hair ran past her, the action figure in his hand dangerously close to smashing her face in. _

_ "Sorry!" The boy called over his shoulder, and Yumi didn't have time to yell at him before someone actually crashed into her and sent her sprawling. Yelping, she huffed, white hair in her face as the girl on top of her jumped off.  _

_ "Shiro is sorry!" The girl said, helping Yumi up. Then her scarlet eyes widened and she grabbed a lock of Yumi's hair, amazed. "Ganta! Come see!" _

_ Yumi blushed and pulled her hair away from Shiro. "I know it's weird-" _

_ "No, it's pretty! Like Shiro's eyes." The boy, who Yumi guessed to be Ganta, said excitedly. He pulled out a market and held out his hand. "What's your name?" _

_ "A-Akayumi," Yumi shook his hand. "But my friends call me Yumi."  _

_ Ganta smiled and drew a symbol on the back of her hand. "Now you're one of my bestest friends, Yumi!" _

_ Yumi stared at the symbol, then from Ganta to Shiro. Slowly she began to smile. "What are we playing?" _

_ "Superheroes!" Shiro cheered, then she and Ganta chorused, "Never fear, Aceman is here!" _

_ Yumi giggled and ran after her new friends happily. _

_ *£ /\/ !)* _

  
  
  


Shiro pulled away with a bright smile on her face. "I missed you! Are you here to stay with Shiro?"

 

"W-what are you talking about?! How are you in-?!" Yumi bit her lip. "Shiro, why'd you get sent to here?"

 

Shiro shrugged. "Shiro has always been here. Oooh, I've got to go tell grandpa you're here!" She jumped as high as she could and caught the vent, leaving quick before Yumi could ask another question. "Shiro will see Yumi later!"

 

"Grandpa...?" She wondered, staring at the vent.

 

The door to the room opened. "Oh, hello."

 

Yumi turned to see a girl with short, slightly spiked pink hair and golden yellow eyes staring at her. She was about Yumi's height.

 

After a moment of silence it registered who this was and she nervously held out a hand. "I'm Yumi, Yumi Rinichiro. Guess I'm your new roommate."

 

"Azami Midou." She said, shaking her hand. "I just came to grab my cast card, it's almost time for lunch."

 

"Cast?" Yumi asked.

 

"Didn't you read the manual yet?"

 

Blinking her eyes, puffy and red from crying, Yumi glanced at the bag she'd thrown onto her cot. "I didn't have the chance, it's my first day..."

 

Azami raised an eyebrow, then picked up what looked like a credit card from her desk. "Just this once, I'll treat you. But you should get to reading that manual."

 

Yumi nodded and grabbed the book out of the bag to read while we were at lunch.

 

"So," She asked in the lunch line, picking out a half sandwich and lemonade. "Cast points can be earned in those games and shows we're supposed to do for the amusement park outside?"

 

Azami nodded. "Yep." She handed over her card to pay for their food. "The more dangerous, the more you're paid. Some games even pay out candy."

 

"I saw that. Why can-?" Yumi turned and bumped into someone, knocking her food (still in its wrapper thank the stars) to the ground. "Oops, I'm so sorry- Yoh!?"

 

Yoh looked down at her in surprise. "Yumi? What are you doing here?!"

 

"I could ask you the same thing." Yumi scooped up their food and trays and handed him his.

 

"You know each other?" Azami asked suspiciously.

 

Yoh and Yumi looked at each other. He answered. "Yumi and used to live on the same street before I got arrested."

 

"Arrested for what? You couldn't have done whatever they said, Yoyo." She snorted, looking up into his gray eyes with disbelief.

 

He frowned at her old nickname for him. "Not important." He sat at a table and Yumi sat with him, Azami following suit reluctantly. "Are you okay in here? "

 

She nodded and swiped a hand under her eyes. "Other than the whispering, fine. Now what's this about candy I'm hearing?"

 

Azami answered. "Candy is the medicine that acts as an antidote against the poison from our collars." She tapped hers.

 

"Poison!? Why would they be trying to kill us?" Yumi asked in dismay.

 

"Death penalty cases." Yoh said dismissively, looking her up in down. "Which reminds me, how could you get thrown in here?"

 

Yumi looked down at her food. "I was framed." She said with an air of finality. "Now, how long do I have?"

 

"You only have to take it every three days. I wouldn't worry yet, they give you a freebie with your bag." Azami reassured her.

 

Yumi smiled. "Thanks."

 

~

 

Later on Yumi was doing the work she was assigned, mulling over the tasks. "Is the dog race a good thing for cast points?" She asked Yoh.

 

Yoh nodded and smiled at her. "Of course. If you want, I could help you win."

 

Yumi rolled her eyes. "Please Yoh, I can take care of myself. You keep right of taking care of Mi-" She cut off, frowning. "What happened to Minatsuki when you were thrown in here?"

 

Yoh's smile dropped and he looked down, his light brown hair covering his face. "I don't like talking about it..."

 

"I'm sorry-" Yumi was cut off when the pothole behind them burst open. 

 

They whirled to see Shiro jumping out of the hole. "Shiro found Yumi!" She held out her hand, a star shaped cookie in the palm of her brown mitten with a tiny bite taken out of it. "Shiro saved you a cookie, too!"

 

"Who is she?" Yoh asked Yumi, unsettled by her sudden appearance.

 

Yumi took the cookie from Shiro thanking her and turned to Yoh, starting to nibble on it. "Shiro is an old friends of mine, back when we were little kids. She's nice when you get over the in your face thing--"

 

"Hey! Isn't that the Rinichiro bitch?" A guy from across the yard yelled. Yumi scowled and turned to see him and several others coming over to stare.

 

One chuckled. "She seems a little small to have killed that entire gym, but she's kinda hot."

 

"She's right here you know." She snapped. "Take a picture or move it along, bastard."

 

He glared. "What makes you think you can talk to me like that!?" He grabbed her arm, only to get smacked in the head with Yoh's shovel.

 

"Hands off!" Yoh growled.

 

The thugs converged on them, forcing the three to fight. Shiro was the best as this, easily taking down several all on her own. Yoh and Yumi took down one or two themselves, but there were too many of them.

 

_ Crack! _

 

Yumi shoved a thug away and turned, alarmed to see Shiro crumpling to the ground, eyes wide open as a thug held a metal pipe above her. "Shiro!" She rushed to help her only to scream as another prisoner shoved a sheive into her back. Luckily it missed any major organs, but pain shot through her body and she collapsed to the ground, feeling her blood drip down her back and soak into her prison jumpsuit.

 

Suddenly the ground shook, and one of the statue's above them began to crumble and come down on them, a large piece hurtling through the air to squash them.

 

The thugs scattered, dragging their incapacitated comrades to safety.

 

"Yumi, come on!" Yoh tried to pull her to her feet, but a piece of falling rubble hit him on the head and he was knocked unconscious.

 

Yumi's emerald eyes were glassy, unfocused. Her expression flickered between pain and wonder, the latter with her eyes darting around as if seeing for the first time. They glanced up at the falling statue and her body reacted before her mind did, Yumi throwing herself over her friends.

 

Then something odd happened. Yumi's blood, the blood from her back, from her small cuts and scrapes from the beating, from her bloody lips, started to float, moving through the air in droplets and rivulets as purple hexagons appeared circling around her. Then the blood went to her back, first stopping the cut before swelling to form two large, intricate, angelic wings that folded themselves over the three.

 

The statute hit the ground, smashing to bits...

 

And when the smoke cleared the three were amidst the rubble. Yumi's wings were gone, and her blood splashed all around them. Yumi was pale, almost anemic while she succumbed to her exhaustion and passed out. 

  
  
  


~

  
  
  


"Aha!" Tamaki said excitedly, staring at the screen with interest. "So this little hatchling is another bird for our cage... Rei?"

 

A woman with mousy brown hair styled into a bob and wearing a doctor's coat took a cigarette out of her mouth to speak. "Yeah?"

 

"Arrange for our... Finch to be transported from the infirmary to G block, as soon as she's well." 


	3. G-Block

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This seems a little...extreme.

Yumi lay in the infirmary, paler than ever with bandages wrapped around her torso and fingers. Other than that, only a few bruises, fading fast, were evidence of her recent conflict.

Groaning, the redhead opened her eyes to see Shiro dozing in a chair next to her cot. Yoh, strangely, was nowhere to be seen. Yumi tried to get up and found herself restrained. "What the hell?"

Shiro's scarlet eyes flew open and a grin lit up her face. "Yumi is awake!" She said happily. "It took Shiro forever to find you, and then you were napping when she finally did. Why was Yumi so sleepy so long?"

Yumi frowned at Shiro's oblivious attitude and scanned the room again. "Where's Yoh? Is he okay?"

"Yoh... Yumi means the big boy? He is in the other infirmary. Yumi was taken down to the special infirmary." Shiro explained. She put a mittened hand on Yumi's forehead and smiled. "Aceman says you belong here now, that you're special too."

"Ace-?" Yumi cut off and looked to the door as Rei Takashima walked in, followed by none other than Tamaki. Shiro had seemingly vanished into thin air, but the albino girl was forgotten as Yumi zeroed in on Tamaki. "You! You were my lawyer!"

Tamaki smiled. "Lovely to see you again Akayumi. You're fitting into DW better than I'd thought you would."

"Son of a bitch, you set me up!" Yumi struggled against her restraints only to jolt as an electric shock went through her body.

Rei flipped the switch back and Yumi slumped to the cot, trembling. "Save your energy, sweetie. Your first carnival corpse is tomorrow, you don't want to be too weak for that."

"Wha...? Carnival Corpse?" Yumi mumbled, dazed.

Tamaki clapped. "Oh dear, I almost forgot!" He pushed a few buttons and a holo-screen pulled up in front of Yumi at the same time as a restraint clasped about her head and forced her eyes open, much to Yumi's distress.

"The Carnival Corpse is our main attraction! The crown jewel of Deadman Wonderland. Deadmen like yourself get to use their powers in the arena, in a tournament of sport to see who is the best!"

As Tamaki explained this all cheerfully, Yumi watched in horror as the "Deadmen" on the screen practically tore each other apart with blood made weaponry. "N-no! You can't make me fight in this! I'll get slaughtered!" She pleaded, her eyes tearing up.

Tamaki sighed. "As always there is the chance of that, but don't worry." He pressed another button and a wall slid open.

Yumi almost threw up. Eyeballs, kidneys, lungs; organs and tissues lined the shelves. She swore she even saw a human fetus. Takami picked up a hand in a jar and held it out towards her. "No matter what tiny scrap of you is left, we'll save and store it for our research even if we have to scrape it from the floor."

The video ended, and Yumi was shaking even more and thought she was going to pass out. "Let's watch again, shall we?" He pressed replay.

 

~

 

When Yumi was finally released and given a map with the path to her room marked out, she headed for the stores instead. Her rooms were among the barracks of the other Deadmen and she was afraid to meet them.

She stepped into a clothing store first and fingered the cast card Yoh had given her. He had possessed a couple of them and wanted to make she was taken care of for the first few weeks of her visit. She didn't expect much to be on them, but was grateful nonetheless.

Eyeing the clothes, She stepped towards the leotards instinctively but remembered her blood power- or Branch of Sin, as Tamaki had called it, were wings that sprouted from her back. Sighing, She went over to the dresses, figuring she at least should make an effort to have a fashion sense.

It took forever. Nearly all of the backless dresses looked too trashy for her tastes. She was about to give up when she spotted a cream and rose coloured dress with a halter top and flowing lace sleeves cuffed with ruffled fabric. The skirt and ruffles were rose red, and both the lace and the top were a creamy white.

Yumi held the dress to her frame and was delighted to find it was just her size. The only problem was that her legs would be uncovered and exposed, meaning she couldn't perform her gymnastics with any sense of decency. Luckily, she found a pair of cream leggings that nipped that problem in the bud.

She took the items up to the register. "How much?"

The worker, a rather eccentric looking woman with messy long blonde hair, tons of makeup, and uncomfortably revealing clothes, tossed her hair and ran them up. "These are pretty pricey, love. Sure you can afford it?"

Uncertain, Yumi handed over the cast card. "Is there enough on there?"

The lady boredly slid the card in the slot, then her eyes widened. "Oh my."

"Is something wrong?"

Her blue eyes bored into Yumi's green ones. "I haven't seen you around before, you have to be new. How'd you get so much cast?"

"I borrowed it from a friend. Why?" Yumi leaned over the counter and almost fainted. 

What the hell did Yoh do to get 13 million casts on this one card!?

She gulped. "That's... convenient..."

The woman bagged up Yumi's purchase while Yumi took deep breaths to try and ease her rolling stomach. "I'm Chaplin Sukegawa. What's your name, hon?"

"A-Akayumi, Ms. Sukegawa."

"Just Chaplin is fine with me." She handed Yumi her bags and the cast card, offering her a word of caution "Keep an eye on that, you don't want to lose it."

Yumi smiled at her, surprised at her politeness. Perhaps she didn't have reason to be afraid of Deadmen after all. "Yes ma'am. Thank you."

She walked out of the store and her stomach growled, so she walked towards a ramen restaurant. Just as she opened the door a man inside was slammed into a table by a tall man with tan skin and spiky black hair. Before Yumi's eyes he cut his arm with some sort of razor ring and blood spilled out to form into a scythe-like blade that he pressed to the other man's neck.

Yumi let out a strangled shriek, and whirled on her heel and ran straight for her room. When she finally made it inside, she slammed the door hard and locked out before flinging herself onto the bed and curling up into a ball.

And she thought gymnastics were intimidating. These people were violent in and outside of that ring. She was going to die here, she just knew it.

A little voice inside her, one that seemed so familiar but so unrecognizable, hissed at her to get herself together.  _ Your first fight is tomorrow and already everyone thinks you're a crybaby. Great job, Yumi. _

Yumi sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I- I'm scared though-"

_ You didn't act so scared at competitions, did you? This is all a game Yumi, like your tournaments. Don't look like you're frightened. _

Nodding, Yumi forced herself up and went to take a shower, getting rid of the bandages. Her wounds had already healed, fast healer she was. She got out and changed into her new clothes, brushing out her hair.

The television suddenly came on. " _ Hello Deadmen! Who's ready for the next Carnival Corpse _ ?"

Yumi threw her brush at the screen, cracking it. "Fuck you Tamaki!" 

" _ Tomorrow's competitors are new comer Finch- _ " A picture of a cartoon bright red finch with Yumi's picture under it appeared, " _ And our Veteran Deadman- taking center stage rather than commenting this time- Peacock! _ " A cartoon peacock appeared just above a shot of Chaplin.

Yumi sighed and turned off the tv. She laid down on her bed and tried to get some sleep. She knew she had a long day ahead of her tomorrow. 


	4. Carnival Punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Carnival Corpse and an unpleasant endgame.

Yumi chewed her lip as the guards uncuffed her. She was about to be sent into the cage.

She was a nervous wreck, not to mention starving. She'd never mustered the courage to leave her room since yesterday and no one came to get her until the guards came to drag her to the carnival corpse. She didn't want to fight Chaplin when she had been kind to her.

_ "Deadmen, bleed! _ " The announcer called as she was shoved inside and Chaplin walked on.

Yumi gulped and looked down. "Look, Chaplin, I don't want to figh-" She was cut off as some sort of thorny mass slammed into her, piercing through her arm. She screamed in agony and almost collapsed as the mass ripped itself free of her arm.

"Delusional brat, aren't you going to put up a fight?" Chaplin chastised, her thumbnail pressed to her fingers in a ready formation to snap and tear the skin

The redheaded girl looked up with wide eyes. "Y-you attacked- I just said I don't want to fight!"

"It really is your first match, no wonder you're so jaded. Ah well, at least this will be easy." Chaplin snapped again, her sharp fake nails breaking the skin on her fingertips and causing blood to spill out, forming more of the bramble like constructs. "Branch of Sin;  _ Peacock's Peak! _ "

Yumi disregarded the pain in her arm and back flipped out of the way of the blood, twisting in midair to avoid it. "Like hell I'll make it easy you ugly tramp!" She hissed, ending up ducking and running to avoid more blood.

_ "This fight is so one sided it hurts, folks. Can Finch avoid this forever? _ " The announcer mocked at the exact time Yumi's leg buckled and she went sprawling.

Grunting, she tried to get up only to screech in pain as Peacock's Peak slammed into her back.  _ "Ouch! Things are looking down for Finch, it looks like Peacock's got it in the bag." _

"Why don't you just give up already, child? It'll save you a lot of pain in the long run." Chaplin laughed, carelessly tearing the brambles from Yumi's back.

Gasping, Yumi tried to ignore the pain and stumble back into her feet. She tried to focus on anything but the throbbing in her temples, the sting of her wounds, the blood dripping down her back-

Her blood!

She just had to try and use her blood! Shutting her eyes, Yumi took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. On cue, her blood began to move in the air, pooling near her back before taking the shape of elegant wings. "B-Branch of Sin...  _ Razor Wings! _ " She blurted as her wings harshly flapped, sending many feathers shooting towards the Peacock as she watched in confusion.

"What the- ah!" Peacock screeched as the feathers tore into her skin, slicing through flesh like the razor blades the Finch's branch was named after. "Bitch!"

"Damn! Things just got interesting folks!"

Akayumi winced but shook the guilt away. Chaplin certainly wasn't guilty about battering her now was she?

Chaplin growled and flung the brambles at Yumi again, and this time Yumi took to the air, flying gracefully as if she had done so all her life. Looking down on Chaplin manipulating her blood, she was struck with deja vu and flashed back to the Man in Red who slaughtered her friends. And an even older incident where she remembered the ground shaking, the building crumbling, blood flying everywhere-

Peacock's brambles slammed into her side and Finch went spiralling, clutching her side wailing in pain and mentally cursing herself for getting distracted. She folded a wing in front of her to soften her landing, shuddering a bit as she hit the ground. While not soft- but not razor sharp in this instance- they felt kind of rubbery, with an almost sticky surface. Jumping to her feet, she raised a wing to protect her when Chaplin tried to hit her with more brambles.

"Nice moves little girl. I was almost beginning to think you wanted to lose." Chaplin sneered.

Finch glared at the woman. "I didn't want to fight you. I thought you were my friend."

"Friend?" Peacock snorted, avoiding the feathers Finch flung at her. "Wake up honey. This is Deadman Wonderland. The only friends worth having are the ones who tank a match for ya. And you clearly aren't the type."

Yumi ground her teeth. "Fine." She lunged towards Chaplin, ducked under the brambles, and lashed out with her foot, harshly kicking Chaplin squarely in the jaw.

Peacock stumbled and collapsed to the ground. Yumi crossed her arms and glared scornfully at the other Deadman. "This didn't have to happen." She retracted her wings and turned to walk away, assuming the fight to be over.

Chaplin sneered and lashed out with her branch, catching Yumi in the back of her leg right where her old stitches were. The redhead screamed and collapsed, blood leaking not only from the scrapes on her body but also the torn stitches leaving a wide gash open in her leg. Trembling, Yumi tried to push herself up only to whimper and collapse back to the ground, black spots dancing in her vision while she watched Peacock stagger to her feet.

_ "Finch is down for the count. This match goes to our veteran, Peacock!" _

"Damn...it..." Yumi blacked out.

 

~

 

Yumi almost bolted when she woke up in the infirmary again, not wanting to see the sadistic doctor again. But thankfully she was alone.

She dazedly looked down at herself, seeing her clothes splashed with blood and torn in some places. She made a mental note to stop by the store to get more outfits later on.

She ached all over, but for now was just glad she'd lived to see the end of the CC alive. The worst was over, right?

"Finally, she's up!" Yumi groggily turned to see the guards. They continued speaking as they walked towards her. "I thought I'd have to wait til tomorrow to collect."

"What makes you so sure she's going to lose an eye? The newbies usually have it easier."

"An eye over an ovary, idiot."

_ What were they talking about? _ Yumi knew better than to ask as they roughly yanked her off the cot and dragged her  back to the arena. Her heart rate increased, believing she had another fight, but instead they just strapped her down to a chair and backed away.

Dr. Rei strolled in with workers pushing in a slot machine of sorts. "Welcome to your first penalty game little Finch!"

"Penalty Game...?" Yumi said in a small voice.

Rei grinned. "You'll love it sweetie. We pull this lever," She demonstrated. "And whatever it lands on we rip out of you for research! Isn't that fun?"

"What!?" The redhead started to struggle against her restraints. "Hell no! This is inhumane!"

"You're not human, remember? Little Finch, you're a Deadman." Rei's eyes sparkled as the wheel slowed. "Lucky you, it seems you're losing 1/3 of your appendix this week. Enjoy your nap." Whipping out a syringe, she injected a sedative into Yumi's bloodstream.

Yumi tried to speak, but her tongue felt like lead and her eyelids drooped against her will as the sedative spread quickly. Her body went limp on the table.

Pushing up the dress the girl wore over her stomach, Rei selected a scalpel and was surprised to see a surgical scar already on her stomach. Yumi's medical records hadn't indicated any organ removals, and Rei would be more than a little upset to find she'd lost her appendix.

Rei disregarded the whimper as she began to cut into Yumi's pale skin, but was startled to hear a shriek of pain.

Yumi's eyes were only halfway open, but glowed with pain and terror. Clumsily formed words came from her numb lips as she struggled to explain. "Medic-ation... Not work...deficiency..."

Rei stood still for a moment before her twisted smile returned to her lips. "You don't want to miss a second of this penalty game, folks. It appears we have a special deadman- one who's awake for the fun."

With that, Rei resumed where she'd left off, callously ignoring the pained groans and eventually tortured screams of Akayumi Rinichiro as she cut out her appendix. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yumi's injections her dad gave her made her immune system faulty, along with her inherent redhead problems. Her body tends to reject anaesthesia and sedatives, unfortunately for her.


	5. Sweet Little Hummingbird; 1 of 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gullible, gullible Yumi...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emetophobia warning for the start, Yumi got pretty sick...

Yumi was curled up on her the floor of her bathroom back in her cell. Her eyes were glassy and glazed and blood had trickled from the corner of her mouth since the last time she'd retched into the toilet bowl.

The penalty game was hell. She could still taste the disgusting mix of bile and blood in her mouth from when she'd choked on it before Rei sewed her up. She couldn't stop trembling or stop the flow of tears that trickled from her emerald eyes.

Sniffling, Yumi finally pushed her way up from the linoleum and stumbled out of the bathroom, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. Despite the churning of her stomach, she hadn't eaten in two days. So much blood loss impacted with starvation would kill her. And she didn't want to die...

At least she didn't think she did.

Stumbling out into the hall, Yumi kept her gaze to the ground as she walked towards a room she had recalled having vending machines. She felt the gazes of other deadmen as she walked past, and wondered if it was because of the blood still staining her clothes or her likely well known status as a loser. She felt sickened, like when she messed up a vault or the time her stitches came out in her thigh when she was attempting a ribbon dance. It was a nasty feeling of shame.

Walking into the vending machine rooms, she finally looked up and felt like a marble lodged into her throat. Chaplin was bandaged up and talking to an ancient man with a leather headset that covered his eyes. Right by the machine nearest to the door.

Yumi quickly and silently stepped in a wide berth around her and took out her cast card from Yoh, and swiped it at the first machine selecting a bottle of water. Catching it before it could make a sound, she moved on to grab a bag of potato chips.

"Finch?"

Yumi crushed the chip bag in her hand as she heard Chaplin's voice call her deadman name. Refusing to acknowledge the woman, Yumi let her hair fall into a curtain around her face and walked out.

She was halfway to her room when a huge, baseball mitt sized hand clutched onto her arm. Yumi looked up in bewilderment to see a huge man with stitches on the sides of his mouth staring at the chips and water bottle on her hands.

"So hungry!" He bellowed, grabbing for her food.

Yumi held it away. "I'm sorry but I haven't eaten in two days; please leave me alone!" She yanked her arm away and shoved him back, taking off down the hallway with him in close pursuit.

Looking around widely, she took a sudden turn into a different hall and threw herself against the wall to hide as he thundered past. As he approached, she heard the sound of a door sliding open and shrieked as she was grabbed and pulled into a cell, the door sliding behind her.

Yumi rubbed her head, taking a deep breath and frowning. Primroses? That was a vast difference from the stale smell of blood she never seemed to escape since entering the hell that was G Block. She opened her eyes and was beyond surprised to see that the room was decked out in the flowers she smelled. Looking around, her surprise tripled to see who was in the room with her.

"Minatsuki?!"

Minatsuki seemed to have scarcely changed since last Yumi saw her- still having chocolate brown hair tied back in twin braids and still having a painfully shy expression. She was wearing a pale yellow dress and had manacles around her wrists, attached by a length of chain. Her gray eyes were wide with recognition as well. "Akayumi! What are you doing here?"

"That doesn't matter, why are you here? Why would anyone put you in this hellhole, you couldn't hurt a fly!" Yumi insisted, pulling her into a hug. She couldn't believe it. This was Yoh's little sister, the little girl who clung to her brother every time they left the house. She was harmless, she was too sweet for this place.

Minatsuki started crying, clinging to her brother's old friend. "O-One day, I came home from school and dad-daddy starting hitting me and beating me... Then he... He..." She dissolved into hysterics, causing Yumi to sit down on the bed with her and let her cry until she calmed down, soothingly rubbing her back.

"It's okay Mina, just let it out." She said softly. "Let it all out..."

Minatsuki finally calmed enough to continue. "He started tearing off my- my clothes, and when he finished he shoved me against the wall. Before he could do anything Yoh came in, saw what was happening, and tried to stop him. I didn't want Yoh to get hurt, and suddenly my blood started moving." She shook a little. "I didn't know what I was doing, but suddenly Daddy was covered in cuts and there was so much blood... The cops came and arrested me. I got sent here."

"That's bullshit!" Yumi hissed. "You protected yourself and your brother, and you didn't even mean to kill the bastard."

Yumi remembered the awful stories she heard from Yoh and Mina when they were little about their father. It was almost something to bond about, considering Yumi's father never wanted anything to do with her unless it involved shots or other work related things. She hated to admit it but he simply didn’t love her.

The younger girl dried her eyes. "I miss Yo-Yo... I hate it here! We're all forced to fight and hurt each other. And the penalty games..."

"Oh god." Yumi's protective instinct grew stronger and stronger the more she heard. "What?"

Minatsuki wrapped her arms around her own waist. "My kidney... And one third of my stomach. It hurt so much when I woke up..." Fresh tears blurred her eyes.

Yumi wiped a finger under the younger girl's eyes. "It's okay Minatsuki. You have me to help you from now on. I'm going go stock up on supplies for the both of us, but I'll be back. Okay?"

The dark haired girl nodded gratefully and smiled as Yumi got up and left. As soon as the door shut though, a twisted smile curved her lips.

" _ Gullible little bitch... _ "

 

~

 

Yumi stumbled back to her own room half an hour later, carrying a bag that contained two extra changes of clothes along with another that contained pain medication for her current ailments. She'd bought a lot, anticipating for the fights she and Minatsuki would more than likely have to face. She was surprised to find a box with a note on top on her bedside table and set her bags down before striding over and picking up the note. The handwriting was clumsy and messy like a child's.

 

_ Yumi! _

_ Shiro wanted to see you today but Aceman said to let you rest after the Carnival, whatever that means. Shiro brought you cookies and candy! The candy is from Grandpa, he says you'll need it to feel better. But they're a little icky so watch out! _

_ See you later Yumi! _

**_Shiro_ **

 

Tilting her head to the side, Yumi opened the box, seeing star shaped rainbow cookies and round candies with striped wrappers.

"The Antidote!" Yumi exclaimed, cursing herself for forgetting that she was being poisoned 24/7 as her death row sentence. She quickly unwrapped a candy and popped it into her mouth, not expecting the awful bitterness and gagging. She had to force herself to swallow and quickly gulped water afterwards.

"Thanks anyway Shiro..." Yumi said appreciatively. "And whoever your Grandpa person is..."

 

~

 

"Did you give Finch the candy, sweet Shiro?" The elderly old director asked, not able to get up from his sickbed in his current condition.

Shiro nodded excitedly. "Shiro thinks she will like it! But what about the necklace? Grandpa told Shiro the necklace will hurt Yumi!"

The old man chuckled and shakily reached out for a picture at his bedside. In it were Sorae and a younger Ganta Igarashi along with a younger Shiro and a bright eyed red headed girl. Shiro's stitches were visible and while the redheaded girl lacked hers from present day, her arms were crisscrossed with scars and despite her beautiful smile she was looking off towards the side in the picture, a bit of sadness in her emerald irises and a fog of rejection clouding her face.

The director ran his fingers down the young Akayumi's face, his eyes cold despite the smile on his lips. "Daddy's little girl would always come back to him. 55% interest, my dearest daughter. Maybe I'll take care of the poison if it reaches 75..."


	6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh? Another fight? This isn't going to be pretty...

Yumi spent as much of her free time as she could with Minatsuki. It was a relief to have a friend in here, someone she remembered well from the outside world. Minatsuki's room, with it's sweet scented primroses was a welcome escape from the bloody reality outside in the halls of G-Block.

Although she couldn't deny the oddity of the situation when people walked past her and Mina in the halls. They looked at them weirdly or swerved to avoid them. It was almost as though one of their presence made them uneasy, or even afraid.

Yumi grimly anticipated the day when the antidote candy Shiro had given her ran out. Splitting it with Minatsuki made it happen much quicker than she'd have liked and the day the last of it disappeared Yumi was reluctantly considering her cast points, knowing how much that one piece alone would rip apart the savings she had.

"Yumi?" Minatsuki said hesitantly, touching her friend's shoulder and pointing towards the television. Yumi looked up to see an announcement for another carnival corpse, and paled as her picture flashed across the screen.

"Stay tuned for our next match later tonight, our pretty new Finch and our calculative rookie, Cuckoo!"

"...I do need more candy." The Finch mumbled, trying not to be afraid.

Minatsuki looked worried. "I know that Deadman Yumi. He's trickier than he looks, don't underestimate him."

Yumi drew up her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly. "I won't make that mistake again," She mumbled. "But still. I haven't even figured out how to make my powers work without getting attacked first. How am I supposed to cut my back that quickly?"

"Have you figured out faster than sound attacks yet?" Mina asked, continuing when Yumi shook her head. "Then you have to find a way to sneak something into the cage to make you bleed. Like, I think the Crow has rings with razors around them to get his branch."

"Razors?" Yumi frowned. "That's going to be tricky considering I don't have pockets and don't want to cut up my hands before I even step into the arena."

"Can you make your feathers on any other parts of your body?"

The redhead frowned. "I haven't really tried..." Lifting her hand, she quickly snapped her teeth on the back of her index finger as hard as she could and tugged, wincing as a sharp flash of pain shot through her hand. Opening her jaw, she lapped blood off her lips absently while critically examining the crimson starting to trickle down her hand.

"Let's see..." Trailing off, she willed her blood to do something, anything. Yumi felt the warmth leave her skin as the dark red started to pool into the air and swirl into an ovaline shape, finally settling into a thin, glistening razor in the form of an aquiline feather.

Both the girl's eyes widened, in disbelief that it worked. Acting on an impulse, Akayumi flung her arm out towards the wall, and the feather shot towards it like she was throwing a knife. The red projectile embedded itself into the wall and stayed there for a minute or so before melting back into the essence of life it was originally.

"No fucking way- I thought I was reaching!" Minatsuki gasped.

Yumi looked down at her finger thoughtfully as more blood bubbled up past the membrane of her skin. "That ought to even the odds a bit, huh?"

 

~

 

"Wow Finch, get in a fight earlier?" One guard asked while they escorted her to the arena.

Yumi shrugged, her fingers wrapped from joint to knuckle. "Just some practice for tonight's Corpse. You don't want to miss it." She sounded unsure.

The guards snorted and pushed her into metal cage that would lift her into the larger one above.  "My money's on Rokuro anyhow, but if you put up an interesting fight..."

She got her first good look at her opponent as she walked in, assessing him quickly. He was taller than her, with shaggy black hair and gray eyes. His expression was blank, he almost looked bored. Yumi didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

" _ Deadmen, bleed! _ " The announcer's voice rang through the cage.

Tearing off the bandages on one hand and ignoring the accompanying sting, Yumi shouted out, "Branch of Sin, Shuriken Feathers!" Blood flowed from the torn skin hidden under the wrappings and formed the sharp projectiles she'd asked for, and she sent them flying at her enemy.

_ "Flashy new trick, huh folks?" _

Immediately Rokuro slashed his hand and put up an octagonal shield with spikes protruding from the sides, blocking every one of the feathers. He moved the shield aside so he could show the disgruntled redhead his smirk. "Great try. 0.3 seconds faster and one of those might've got me."

Not letting herself dwell on it, Yumi slashed her back between her shoulder blades with a remaining feather, allowing her wings to form and branch out from her back. "Oh shut up!" She jumped into the air. "At least my branch actually does something useful!"

"The battle's only just begun red!" Rokuro dodged the shower of feathers she sent him and leered. "But do keep trying, you'll only be cuter when you fail!"

_ The fuck did he just-?! _ Yumi circled the arena shooting off a few more feathers, disgruntled and trying to think of a plan of attack. She couldn't shoot and miss forever, she'd get anemic.

Lost in her thoughts, the Finch let out a shriek of pain when the Cuckoo's shield sliced her arm, almost deeply enough to cut a vein. She was sent crashing to the ground from the shock, barely escaping slamming her face into the ground and having to deal with a sharp crack that seemed to be her shoulder instead. Groaning, Yumi glared at the cut, eyes glassy and unfocused, and watched as the blood feathered and congealed, scabbing over to staunch the blood flow.

She turned her glare to Rokuro as he caught his shield and flashed a crooked smile. "You've got guts, I'll give you that. I can't wait to see how much of them I can rip apart before you're crying and begging for me to end it."

He stepped forward, making the mistake of coming too close, and Yumi ignored the pain in her body to flip and kick his feet out from under him. As he went down, arms thrown out to the sides to catch himself and branch of sin forgotten, Finch leapt to her feet and extended her wings, grabbing his arm before he fully hit the ground and launching them both into the air.

When they got up as high as they could in the cage that was the arena, Yumi cupped his face, leaning close and fluttering her eyelashes, a sadistic smile spreading across her lips.

"Betcha didn't see this coming-  _ did you _ , asshole?"

She shoved him towards the ground with all her might and sent a barrage of feathers after him that cut into the palms of his hands and his shoulder blades when he hit the ground. Other than a short scream when he hit the ground, there was nothing else to do and he couldn't move.

" _ Talk about turnarounds! The winner of this match- The Finch! _ "

Yumi landed, knees buckling, and her branch's rescinded into her body. The manic look in her eyes was fading and she looked ill, shaking accepting her trophy and cast points and candy and watching blankly as Rokuro was carted off to the infirmary.

She absently wondered what he would lose in the Penalty Game and almost regretted her victory, but shook the thought out of her mind.

She had Minatsuki to worry about as well as herself.

 

~

 

Minatsuki invited her to a victory party. Chaplin was there, along with the giant who'd tried to steal her food, Masu, and the old man Chaplin had spoken to, Idaki Hitara. Somehow they conned her into paying for everything with her winnings.

Yumi mumbled thanks as they congratulated her. She passed around food and drinks but ate little. Not a single word escaped her lips.

The party wasn't disrupted by the penalty game. Minatsuki for all her supposed horror at the happenings of G-Block was unphased, and no one around Yumi seemed to notice or even care for Rokuro's objections and Rei's twisted laughter.

Only Yumi watched.

Glazed, hazy emerald eyes watched intently as Rokuro was cut open to have his forfeited organ removed. Followed the crimson stream flowing from the incisions. Stared as the doctor cut through the muscle and nerves keeping the organ connected and placed the bloody mass of tissue on the tray.

A barely perceptible giggle bubbled through the redhead's lips and she bit into a ball of strawberry mochi. Victory in this hellhole was surprisingly sweet.


	7. Sweets and Shots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh I don't feel so good...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for needles and separated body parts in this chapter, pretty mild tbh

Yumi didn’t practice her Branch of Sin outside of her room. 

She did appreciate the training arena for her hand to hand skills and gymnastics however. It offered a lot of opportunity so relieve stress, which she had in spades since being thrown in here. Although since the match, she’d seemed lighter, happier. Not as though she enjoyed her time here, of course. 

Maybe she’d seen the bright side?

“Why do you still practice those?” Minatsuki commented as the Finch tried and failed to perfect a roundoff, cursing. “I don’t think it’s going to help in the Carnival Corpse, and you can’t exactly show off to an audience anymore…”

Dusting herself off and preparing for another attempt, Yumi replied, “I  _ will.  _ I’m going to get us out of this hellhole, the both of us, and I’m going to continue with life as I used to before it. I did not put up with years of training not to be a gymnast.”

There was a snorting noise, but when she looked towards Mina there was a pout of pity on her face.

“No one’s going to want to see a convicted murderer become a gymnast…”

“I’m  _ not  _ a murderer. I’ll prove my innocence or die trying, and then?” She stuck the landing, arms held above her head in victory. “It’ll be just as I’ve always dreamed.”

Minatsuki smiled and shook her head.  _ Let the silly bitch dream, it keeps her happy with me. _

She never saw Akayumi practice her Branch of Sin either, but she saw the damage to her room afterwards. The walls were covered in scratches and marked as though she’d stabbed at them. She was using an absurd amount of cast to buy paint to cover it up, but occasionally she was met with company while the walls still looked like evidence to a violent crime.

But she never acted the sort to commit it. Just as serene as could be towards whoever came  by. There was no trace of the Deadman who’d attacked Rokuro so viciously.

Shiro’s next visit was, of course, when Yumi had a moment alone, and the pale girl gave the redhead a heart attack by glomping her from behind as she was trying to paint the walls. “YUMI!”

Her fingers twitched, a second from scraping open old wounds to develop her weapons, but she gave up realizing this wasn’t a dangerous attack and tried to squirm around to hug her old friend. “Shiro! You’ve  _ got  _ to cut that out, I’m fragile here. You’re gonna make my heart explode!”

Giggling, Shiro released her and hummed happily to have her hug returned. “I missed you! Grandpa said to bring you candy.”

“Oh, thanks…” Yumi’s lips twitched. She was grateful for the antidote but at this point the very mention of it made her want to gag. “Where is he getting all this anyway? He’s being awful nice about giving away so much but it can’t be the easiest thing in the world to get…”

Shiro shrugged. “I dunno… He’s good at finding things in here.”

The redhead had half a mind to ask who this  _ Grandpa  _ even was, but considering her friend’s behaviour she wasn’t sure she’d get a straight answer. Things had changed a lot since she and Shiro were young, but Shiro barely seemed different. It was almost concerning.

She wondered if it had to do with--

Shiro dumped the candy on the bed and cheerfully displayed what else she’d brought; two pudding cups. “Want a snack? It’s the best kind!” 

_ All the sugar she eats,  _ Yumi mused, dismissing her earlier thought.  _ I’d be bouncing off the walls too. _

Not that she’d ever turn down a free sweet. “Sure! I’ve got a spoon or two in my drawer, just hold on.”

 

~

 

_ Yumi couldn’t move. A wave of nausea hit her not long after the more recent bout of shots and she sat under the tree outside to try and cool down. Now she was completely slumped over, cheek itching from her hair and the grass under it while her glassy green eyes stared dully ahead. _

_ Shiro and Ganta had gone on without her at her insistence. They promised they’d bring her back a pudding when they went to get a snack, but she couldn’t recall how long ago that had been. _

_ Her arm itched and stung, a band aid stuck over another one of her father’s shots. This one hurt more, sent a tingling sensation up her arm and over the rest of her body. But while she could feel the rest of her body (by degrees, hair breadth degrees) her arm was numb. There was absolutely no feeling in her hand and the rest of her arm was pins and needle static emanating from the shot. _

_ She let out a soft groan when she heard the footsteps and whoever walked past paused. The steps came onto the grass and Yumi looked up as the person knelt. Ms. Igarashi, Ganta’s mother. _

_ She stared down at Yumi with a reserved, curious stare. “Are you alright Akayumi? I thought you’d be playing with Ganta and Shiro.” _

_ “Mhm,” the redhead tried to nod, but the muscles in her neck wouldn’t cooperate. “Jus’ tired…” The words were their own struggle and Yumi felt so drained after speaking that her eyes fell shut and she was practically asleep. _

_ Sorae sighed. She didn’t care much for Hagire, but to leave his daughter prone like this wouldn’t be kind. “Come on, you can sleep it off on the couch.” _

_ She started to pick the girl up, but almost fumbled and dropped her, hard, right back on the ground when her hand flopped too far to the side, skin and muscle splitting to leave it dangling by the half that remained. Blood oozed from the severed areas sluggishly, as though they’d been seriously clotted together. _

_ Sorae could have screamed, but she caught sight of the bandage on Yumi’s arm. She thought back to Hagire “cataloguing” their leftover mediums, wondering why the sick freak took such interest in the implements they used on poor Shiro. _

_ She’d have to go over the inventories and she what he’d taken. Shiro’d lost her arm only last week, how quickly was Yumi deteriorating? _

_ But first she’d take the girl up to the living room. She’d stitch and wrap up her wrist and call Shiro and Ganta in for snack time and play the Woodpecker Song. _

_ She’d try to convince herself this wasn’t her fault and Hagire would have thought of this without her anyway. _

 

~

 

Yumi walked reluctantly into the infirmary, scowling to see the doctor sorting things on trays. She’d gotten the message to show up, proceeded to ignore it, and wound up dragged by the guards until she agreed to walk of her own volition. Even now they lingered in the hall in case she intended to make a run for it. 

Rei looked up with a cheerful smile. “Welcome back Finch~ I was concerned we wouldn’t get to play again anytime soon. Don’t you think it’s been too long?”

“Cut the crap bitch.” Yumi was jumpy from the pudding and had missed a ramen date with Minatsuki to come here. She didn’t feel like playing nice. “Why am I here? Haven’t lost a match in a minute so you can’t get off on cutting me open today.”

“I still have the tapes, I can do whatever I please. But that’s not why I’m here. I’ve been instructed by the director that you’re to receive a round of shots.” She said sweetly, picking up a needle from her tray of horrors.

The Deadman took a step back, forgetting about the guards outside in her panic. “I-I’m up to date on vaccines… it isn’t even flu season.”

“Director’s orders.” Rei’s glasses gleamed malevolently in the light. “You’ve got a more interesting sample than most, Rinichiro. You forget you’re a living guinea pig. We just want to make sure you’re up to your best so we aren’t collecting useless goods.”

Yumi hesitated and Rei added, “We can break out the restraints again if you’d like! You seemed so delighted with them before…”

The younger woman sat in the chair by Rei’s set up and obediently offered her arm. Smiling, Rei swabbed the area and gave her one- two- three shots that left Yumi’s skin irritated. “See, now was that so hard?”

Yumi felt dizzy. She fucking  _ hated _ shots. “Go choke. Are we done?”

“Yeah yeah. Go ahead; I’d recommend eating something sweet soon. You aren’t looking so hot and I know there’s a tendency for patients to pass out after receiving these. I don’t think I’d be able to help myself from a quick go around with a scalpel if you passed out on me.”

“Hope your boyfriend gets off on cutting you up as much as you do others,” She rose shakily to her feet and stormed out, shoving past the guards.

Rei smiled and pulled up the files, comparing them to the ones she’d received for the Wretched Egg so many years ago. The specimen, labeled “3R10”, was a long way off from the Wretched Egg’s progress, but thankfully matched up in a fair enough way that she could clearly track it’s delayed progress.

Sadly she’d been beaten to the punch in making her a Deadman, but that didn’t mean further experiments couldn’t help in her research creating her own, artificial deadmen. Or better yet getting them or Yumi to the same power levels as the monster that had caused the Earthquake.

 

~

 

Yumi, head resting in Minatsuki’s lap while she tried to stop the world from spinning, stared morosely at the screen announcing tomorrow’s match. 

Hummingbird vs. Finch.

“I’m not fighting.” Yumi announced. “They can’t make me do shit.”

The younger girl stared at her doubtfully. “You have to… you got here too late for the fight between one of the couples in in this hellhole. A man, they call him Owl, he threw the match for his wife and Tamaki wasn’t happy, so after the penalty game they…”

“What?”

“His wife was pregnant…they cut her open in front of him. She died.”

The redhead felt another wave of nausea hit her again. This place was hell, that poor man… “Then we make it look real enough. Don’t go easy on me and I’ll pretend to give it my all. Haha, I’ll probably pass out from blood loss before you do any real damage.”

The Hummingbird’s hands shook, and if Yumi had looked at her she would mistake the smile the girl was trying to resist as a grimace from how it twisted her face. “You--Are you sure? The penalty game--”

“I’m not going to let them hurt you Minatsuki. I made a promise and I’m sticking to it.”

She went back to stroking Yumi’s hair, the gesture seeming to be one made in thanks. Because of that Yumi didn’t comment on the tremors, and pushed down the chill creeping up her spine at every clink of the chain of Mina’s handcuffs. She was her friend, she had no choice. At least this way only one of them had to be hurt.

As she dozed off she never even considered that her so called “friend” was staring down at her with a horrible smirk, cherishing the mental image of how Akayumi would look covered in blood with a face darkened by hopelessness and betrayal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can say with confidence next chapter will be up in a week, hope you enjoyed!


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